BHUPAL SINGH Vs. STATE OF UTTARAKHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellants/accused have been convicted for the offences punishable under Ss. 304B and 498A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (for short, the "IPC"). For the offence punishable under Sec. 304B of the IPC, the appellants/accused have been sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for 10 years and for the offence punishable under Sec. 498A of the IPC, the appellants have been sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for two years with a fine of Rs.2,000.00 each.

(2.) The first appellant is the father-in-law of the deceased (Kamla Devi) and the second appellant is the husband of the deceased. The marriage between the deceased and the second appellant was solemnized in February 1996. On the night of 13th/14/6/1999, the deceased was found in burnt condition. There are only two material prosecution witnesses. The first witness, Shri Khim Singh Nagarkoti (PW-1), is the father of the deceased, and the second witness, Shri Mohan Singh (PW-2), is the uncle of the deceased.

(3.) With the assistance of the learned senior counsel appearing for the appellants/accused and the learned counsel representing the respondent/State, we have carefully perused the testimony of both the prosecution witnesses. In the examination-in-chief, PW-1 has stated that: